The Specimen Processing Shared Resource was originally established as part of the Public Health Sciences Core laboratory in 1993. It was reconstituted as a separate shared resource in 1996. The resource was developed to answer the need for an in-house facility to handle specimen processing for studies being conducted in the Programs in Epidemiology and the Cancer Prevention Research. While the established laboratories in the Program in Cancer Biology are involved in translational research and the development of novel approaches, it is also essential to have dedicated laboratory support, with a strong emphasis on quality control, for large population-based studies conducted in the Division of Public Health Sciences. The goals of the resource are to continue its strong emphasis on quality control in specimen processing and to expand its services to meet the needs of other FHCRC programs.